500 Hours of Solitude
by Nova5621
Summary: Sasuke has been released from prison and is now assigned a sentence he isn't too sure he can complete. "How the heck am I supposed to accomplish all of this? I don't even like people!" Post War. ( Takes place after current manga chapter (and b/c I'm assuming Sasuke & others live past the war)).
1. Chapter 1

Rated T for Language

Chapter 1 – Don't Smart Mouth the Judge

"Don't smart mouth the judge. That'll do you no good."

I walked alongside the parole officer/lawyer assigned to me all those years ago. Upon my return to the village, I was incarcerated and sentenced to ten years imprisonment, but thanks to the work of my _wonderful_ lawyer, my sentence was shortened to three years and I was now on my way to my last hearing, where the judge will deliberate how I would spend the rest of my punishment.

"Now, I've arranged a few counter measures. I didn't ask for your opinion because I knew you would just reject them all. But hopefully, the judge will not see through it and will find my ideas good ones. We don't need you wasting away in prison when we can use you out here," she waved her arm around her, "we can use all the man power we can to get the village back in shape," she rambled on.

Jounin level ninja followed us on either side, as "extra" protection. They didn't really do much except for checking out my lawyer. She was nonsensical but she got the job done even though she reminded me too much of Karin, with her red hair and her stupid glasses. Did all Uzumaki clan members need glasses?

We reached the Hokage tower. This is when the other jounin tend to disperse and they did. They entered the building before us, leaving me alone with _her_.

She gripped my shoulder. "Sasuke, I've done all I can to help you and I'll continue to do so, but you need to help me too. This is the day," she squeaked the last part. "You ready?"

I didn't reply. She pursed her lips, "whatever," and pushed me through the doors. We walked together silently until we reached the double doors that would lead us to the judge's chambers. Even though I grew up in this village, I wasn't very aware of the justice system this village seemed to have. With my time composes mostly of going in and out of courtrooms, jail cells, and offices, I've realized that the village actually has some sort of justice system where people get arrested, like me, and are assigned lawyers. However, apparently, the village can't afford this most of the time and most criminals end up in the system or they fall through. How is this village even safe?

"Lets hurry in before-"

"Look what we have here."

She immediately groaned. We turned around to find my old team standing before us.

"Kakashi," she said unamused.

"Haruka! What a pleasant surprise."

"No it isn't. You know Sasuke's my client. And you know today was our court date. Go away. Come on, Sasuke." She pushed me again but this time through the chamber doors.

"You'll do fine, Sasuke!" I heard Sakura's cheery voice.

"We'll see you on the other side!" Naruto yelled.

# # #

"Your honor, if I may, Sasuke has behaved incredibly well. Considering his original charge and the effect it had on Konohagakura, I believe his decreased sentence is legitimate." My lawyer spoke to the judge eloquently. She had a strong presence in the court and her commanding voice always brought everyone to attention.

"Go on."

"In exchange for his release, I believe 500 hours of community service can replace his previous sentence and still retain a form of punishment."

500 hours?! 500 fucking hours? How the hell am I supposed to accomplish that?

The judge slammed is gavel. "It's settled. Sasuke Uchiha is sentenced to 500 hours of community service which he must complete in one years time, assigned by either his lawyer or the Hokage. As agreed on from our previous sessions, the extended sentence includes the prohibition of rejoining the ninja ranks as a full time employee until his community service sentence is over, Uchiha is not allowed outside the walls of the village, and he must submit to biweekly medical exams. Is that clear, Uchiha?"

"Yes."

Haruka gave me a pointed look. Her eyes were wide.

"Your honor," I added quickly. "Yes, your honor."

He slammed his gavel once more. "Alright, court is adjourned."

# # #

"I was pretty awesome in there, wasn't I?" Haruka stretched her arms above her head. I must've been to silent for her because she punched me in the arm, making me wince.

"What the hell?"

"I said, I did pretty awesome, didn't I?! Geez. Pay attention."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Your new home!" she swung her arms widely. "Now that your out of jail. You need a place to stay. I went to the luxury of finding you a place. It's small but it will do since it's just you."

# # #

"This is smaller than small."

"Sasuke, you have no right to complain. Get in here!"

Haruka went to the windows and threw open the curtains. "Look what a nice view. Now," she walked around the living room, "Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu live in the same complex. It was just easier that way. If you decide later on that you want to live with one of them you'll have to let me know so I can make the arrangements."

I felt myself sigh. Jail had been so much nicer than this damn place. It took Haruka three steps to walk from one side of the living room into the kitchen. The bathroom was so small I'm sure I'll be hitting my elbows on the wall and my bedroom only fit a twin-sized bed.

"Please don't complain about how small it is. It was the best I could do. There were other complexes but they thought it was weird I was requesting such a large space for just one person." Haruka walked over to me and patted me on the shoulder. Even though she was shorter than me she treated me like a child. I clearly wasn't considering how many times I've made her blush in the past.

"How the heck am I supposed to complete 500 hours of community service?"

"Come on, Sasuke. You're smart. You can do math. It shouldn't take you longer than a year to complete." She slapped me on the back. "Alright, I'm off. Here is a list of this week's possibilities. Let me know which you'll be doing first so I can notify them. Good luck, Sasuke"

She opened my door forcefully, "oh, and don't kill anyone." She closed the door behind her but I could hear her laughing maniacally down the stairs outside.


	2. Chapter 2

Rated T for language

# # #

Chapter 2 – The Hyuuga's are Known for their Byakugan and…Gardens?

"Wakey, wakey." I felt a warm breath tickly my cheek. I groaned in response and flipped over on my bed, ignoring the voice.

"You did not just ignore me, Sasuke."

Oh no.

"Get. Up," Haruka seethed. Her teeth snapped next to my ear. I heard her stomp away and slam my bedroom door.

I sat up with another groan. I raked a hand over my face and instantly started to curse at the sunlight flooding my room from the window. I could hear Haruka moving about the kitchen. I heard the opening and closing of the refrigerator door. Is she…making breakfast?

# # #

I sat down at my kitchen table, fully dressed, and ready for the day, as ready as I could ever be.

Haruka set a plate down in front of me. A stack of fluffy pancakes sat on top.

"You're making breakfast, for me?" I didn't wait for an answer. I picked up my fork and started cutting up pieces.

"Of course. You'll need all your energy for today." She set down a plate for herself and sat down across from me. "You know…since it's your very first volunteer day!"

She sounded enthusiastically fake and she knew it. She gave me a grin before stuffing her face with pancakes. We sat in silence for a few minutes. After awhile she pushed a piece of paper across the table. She tapped her finger on the paper, but I took my time before finally looking over.

"What is this?"

"Your first assignment…"

I groaned.

"I think you'll like this one." She stuffed the last bit of pancakes into her both and moaned with happiness. "I do say, I make pancakes very well."

"Whatever."

I watched as she stood up and dropped her dish into the sink. It fell with a loud clatter. "Hurry up and eat," she huffed.

I finished quickly just so I wouldn't hear her nag.

She picked up my dish while I reached out for the paper. It was a flier advertising a garden. "What the heck is this?"

"I told you. Your first assignment."

"A garden…?"

"Yes…a garden."

"What am I going to be doing?"

"I don't know. Garden, stuff? Come on and get up. I'm supposed to drop you off."

"What? You're my babysitter now?"

# # #

"You are kidding me."

Haruka pushed me into the fenced in garden. There were other small groups of people walking amongst the plants, but other than that, it was pretty empty.

"Haruka-san," a small voice called from a distance.

Haruka and I looked over and watched the oldest of Hyuuga Hiashi's daughters walking over to us.

"Hinata-san," Haruka bowed slightly, "good morning."

"Oh, Haruka-san, you don't have to be so formal."

"No, it's quite alright," Haruka smiled. She placed a hand on my back and pushed me forward. I skidded to a stop. "I've brought you some help. Make him do whatever you need him to do."

"Oh, are you…sure?" Hinata looked down slightly before looking between Haruka and I.

"Positive. It's ten a.m. now. I'll pick him up around 4 p.m. Does that sound okay with you?"

"Yes."

"Bye!" Haruka waived happily before leaving me alone with the Hyuuga.

My eyes landed on the Hyuuga. She shifted on her feet. She gripped and wrung her hands together before saying a word.

"Sasuke-san…would you like to help us plant some vegetables?"

"It's not like I have a choice…"

"Right," she kicked a rock in the dirt. "Come this way."

I followed the girl until she stopped near the back of the garden, next to a square pit of overturned dirt.

"We'll be planting here. I'll go get the equipment." She walked away quickly and I didn't watch where she walked off too.

"Sasuke!" A happy golden voice drilled into my brain.

"Naruto," I groaned, for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Whatcha doin?" he slapped me on my back. He moved around me so that he was now standing next to me. "Are you going to plant some flowers?"

I remained silent.

Naruto began to play with the dirt at my feet. Before I could chastise him for it, the Hyuuga returned with shovels and a pickaxe. Another Hyuuga was following behind here carrying a tray of young plants.

"Naruto-kun?" she said tentatively.

"Hey, Hinata-chan! Sakura and I came to help," Naruto pointed off in a random direction.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled. She handed me the shovel and set the pickaxe down.

"Here, nee-chan." The girl behind Hinata handed her the tray of plants, "I'll go get them started." She motioned toward Naruto.

"Hanabi, are you sure?"

"Yeah, I know what to do. Come on, Naruto."

"Awesome! Bye, Hinata-chan! Sasuke." He gave me last one shove before leaving.

I heard Hinata sigh next to me. Her cheeks were lightly pink. It wasn't even that hot out.

"We should get started." She set the tray down on the floor. "We're replanting these into this plot." She kneeled down on the floor. I walked around the plot with the shovel.

"Shall we begin?" she said with a small smile.

# # #

The Hyuuga and I got to work relatively quickly and silently. I wasn't surprised. The Hyuuga have been known to be quiet people who minded their own business. Hinata was no different. But, I was expecting her to say something at least…

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, disrupting the silence.

She lifted her eyes from a carrot plant. "Doing what?"

"This garden. What is it for?"

"It's a community garden…the Hyuuga clan wanted to start." She patted the dirt and then moved on to another small hole in the ground.

"But why? Why would the Hyuuga, of all people, want to create a community garden?" I pushed the subject a little further.

"The Hyuuga clan has always held the people and community of Konoha in highest regard. We try to take part in the community as much as we can. This is just a small way of trying to bring people together," she answered eloquently.

I scoffed. "That sounds like bullshit." I dug my fingers through the dirt. I pushed further and further into the dirt. I grabbed a random plant from the tray and threw it into the hole I just dug. Before I had a chance to cover the damn plant with any dirt, a pair of soft hands grabbed mine.

A breath seemed to be stuck in my throat. My eyes followed the source from which the hands came from. They moved slowly up her arms and landed on her face.

She moved my hands gently away. She then proceeded to fix the hole I dug. She took a different plant and placed it softly in the ground. "You don't know us," she said softly, patting the dirt around the leaves. "Just like I don't know you," she said, barely above a whisper.

I looked away from the plant and found her staring right at me.

"It's good too see you looking so healthy and strong." She stood up from the ground and began to dust off dirt from her pants. I followed her lead.

She bent down to gather the tools we used. Small shovels and pickaxes. She settled them all on the tray that once held all the small plants. She stood up once more and looked me straight in the eye. "Thank you for coming today. We appreciate the help…I appreciate it."

I shrugged. "It's not like I had a choice."

"…If you'd like to come back to help us out please let Haruka-san or I know. I'm sure we can find something for you to do." She started to walk away.

"Wait! Are we done here?"

She nodded slowly. "It's almost five, Sasuke-san."

# # #

I walked out of the garden with a huff. Haruka was supposed to pick me up at four and she didn't come. I knew I shouldn't feel frustrated – I don't need a babysitter.

I caught a spot of red from the corner of my eye. I whisked my head around quickly. Kakashi was standing in front of Haruka. She was leaning against the tall fence surrounding the garden and was looking away with her arms crossed.

"Haruka," I called out. I jogged over.

I noticed her jump away from Kakashi and he even took a step back.

A smile quickly spread across her face. "Sasuke! You ready?"

I nodded.

"Great. Do you want to get something to eat?" she pulled on my arm and began to walk away from my old teacher, ignoring him completely.

"Haruka," he said sternly.

"Kakashi, mind your own business," she replied. She turned toward me. "You're probably tired. You want to head home?"

"Sure."

"Alright, let's go."

We walked down the path quietly. A heaviness seemed to hang above Haruka, although, she looked as cheerful as ever. I knew it had something to do with my teacher, who I sensed was still standing where we left him.

Seven hours down. 493 more to go.

* * *

**A.N.** New Chapter! Sorry this took so long. I just wasn't in the mood much to write. My current project is my Ouran fanfic. This one is mainly for actual "writing" practice. That being said, I'd really appreciate any comments/concerns/criticisms.

Story Note - Haruka is an OC. Hopefully I didn't confuse anyone. And...What did you think of this chapter? Also, what do you want to see Sasuke do next? I have a list of potential volunteer work, but I'd like some more ideas. I don't think I have "500" hours worth of volunteer work...help? Haha. Anyway, thank you for reading!


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